How likely is an audit playing only 25c FPDW?

The title explains it all. How likely is a tax audit if one never had to fill out a W-2g form? I can't help but be a little paranoid. I know than less than 1% of tax filers are audited.

Probably the same as having a tax audit if you eat a bacon double cheeseburger at Wendy's.

Quote: Dyvan13

The title explains it all. How likely is a tax audit if one never had to fill out a W-2g form? I can't help but be a little paranoid. I know than less than 1% of tax filers are audited.

Hmmm... such a timely topic. I'm no CPA, but the really good ones who frequent WoV may be a bit busy this time of year. And, if you search out tax-related WoV threads, you will find a wide, WIDE range of approaches to this issue. But, since you asked, I'll throw in my 2 cents worth.

First, I don't think your title accurately "explains it all," because a person's US income taxes involve so much more than gaming wins and losses. For example:

• 25-cent FPDW: So, that's only $1.25 per hand, right? Sounds pretty safe. Or, is there a 100-hand FPDW you play at 100 x $1.25 per hand? Big wins on that VP machine could involve a lot of moola.
• W2Gs: Did you receive any? For lots and lots of money? Or, one or two small (under $2K) ones? However many you received, you should probably show that money as income, right?
• Gambling Log: Even if you received W2Gs totaling over $100K, your detailed gambling log will allow you to deduct any losses up to the amount of your total reported gaming income. Since the IRS, the Tax Court, and the Casinos all agree that your casino win-loss statement is not necessarily an accurate reflection of a person's gaming wins and losses. So, the IRS sez the gambler must document her/his play (IMHO) in rather burdensome detail. But, of course, you do have your accurate, complete gambling log, right? Or, if W2Gs are few and for small amounts, you may count the income and ignore trying to deduct losses, because big losses could be IRS audit triggers. If your log shows big losses for a weekend gaming trip you reported, IRS may also ask for additional substantiation. For example, hotel, dining, and gas receipts showing non-gaming expenditures on that trip (just to verify info in your gaming log isn't made up for trips that never occurred).
• Other IRS Triggers: Is there anything else in your taxes that might trigger an audit? For example, a hobby business on the side. Maybe a taxpayer deducts for a home office. Is a lot of your "regular" income derived from cash transactions that are harder for IRS to monitor electronically? An Internet search will list things that catch the attention of the IRS. If some non-gaming issue triggers your audit, your gaming income is likely to come under the audit also.
• Who me? Well, if you have no W2Gs, or if your W2Gs are small in number and amount, and if you don't stand out for some other reason, then my best guess is you are not likely to have IRS audit you. IRS -- even if it suspects there is unpaid tax likely to be found -- may decide to chase bigger fish to get a bigger tax payoff. Of course, anything can happen because some audits trigger randomly.

Hopefully, others more knowledgeable than myself will weigh in to tell you how the cow ate the cabbage.

Most audits are random, except for criminal ones, as told to me by a high muckety muck at the IRS. Taking an Earned Income Credit is a yellow flag, as are ridiculous charitable donations.

FWIW, I itemize and while I maintain records of daily win/loss on my own, I use the casino's win/loss statement to get my gross figures.

Never been audited, so I assume I'm not raising any red flags.

My god,

cliff notes please.